It’s not easy landing a job in South Africa, which is why people sometimes feel the need to embellish a little on their CVs.

The most common lies that people tell relate to skills, job titles, responsibilities, period of employment, their reason for leaving, and employment history.

In other words, it’s possible to put together an entirely fake CV and then hope for the best.

It’s so common that a number of high-profile South Africans have been found to have misrepresented their qualifications in the past, reports BusinessTech.

According to a report released by background screening company Managed Integrity Evaluation (MIE) at the end of 2018, the number of qualifications found to be fraudulent has decreased to 1,678 in 2017, from 2,049 in 2016; however, the number of misrepresented qualifications has increased from 44,880 in 2016, to 50,618 in 2017.

While it might seem harmless in some cases, unqualified people in jobs that require a high level of qualification could be potentially risky.

Anybody recall the SARS IT chief, Mmamathe Makhekhe-Mokhuane? Yeah, that’s what can go wrong.

In order to stop people fibbing on their CVs, the National Council of Provinces has now officially adopted the National Qualifications Framework Amendment Bill, and the legislation has now been sent to President Cyril Ramaphosa for approval.

The new bill aims to prevent South African individuals from misrepresenting their qualifications by allowing for the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) to establish and maintain separate registers for professional designations, misrepresented qualifications and fraudulent qualifications.

In addition to these new registers which will effectively ‘name and shame’ individuals who had been found to be holding fraudulent qualifications, the bill also introduces harsh consequences for those who are caught lying about their achievements.

Under the new act, any person found to have misrepresented themselves on a CV is liable to a fine and/or imprisonment not exceeding five years.

Cue some quick edits to the CV, then.

No job is worth jail-time.

Stay honest.

[source:businesstech]